Ryoga's Time Trial
by Silver Shoelaces
Summary: Ryoga is wandering around lost, looking for a place to train. Though he can't find his way, his stumble down an old well might just help him achieve his goal. However, he meets a bad-tempered hanyou named Inu-Yasha...
1. The Wrong Direction: Draft One

A/N: In Japan, you say the last name first. Hibiki Ryoga, not Ryoga Hibiki.

Hibiki Ryoga stumbled over a rock, not noticing its presence in the darkness of the night. This could not go on. If he was going to beat Ranma, and finally win Akane-chan's heart, he had to train in the wilderness, and in order to do that, he had to be able to **find** the wilderness. He was now in the middle of a city. He had to swallow his pride, smother his honor and ask for directions, or he may never get to the wilderness at all.

"Hey, you!" he called out to a random person on the street. "Which way do I go to reach the mountains?"

The person pointed towards the south, in the direction of a mountain range. "Go south, young man, and be strong!"

"Thanks!" smiled Ryoga, turning north. Ryoga sighed. This trip to the mountains would take a long time. At least he knew he was going in the right direction. However, due to his dismal sense of direction, little did Ryoga know that he was going the wrong way. That wasn't his only dilemma either. Because of his tough skin and resistance to pain, Ryoga didn't know that when he had tripped, a shard of a jewel had dug itself into his palm and was now disolving into his body.


	2. The Wrong Direction: Revised Edition

A/N: In Japan, you say the last name first. Hibiki Ryoga, not Ryoga Hibiki.

A/N #2: I did notice that my chapters were too short, so I'm lengthening them. Nekokannes, if you'd like, this can be sort of an example for you, too. It's very satisfying to turn three paragraphs into .

Hibiki Ryoga stumbled over a large, heavy rock, not noticing its presence in the darkness of the night. He shook his head solemnly, moaning in frustration. This could not go on. If he was going to defeat Ranma in battle, and finally win Akane-chan's heart, he had to train extra-hard in the wilderness. He was unable to train with Ranma getting on his nerves all the time, so he had to go somewhere where Ranma would never willingly go. He had picked the wilderness in southern Japan. He had even plotted it on a map. However, he was still unable to **find** the wilderness. He sighed, looking around at the dim lights dancing upon the edges of many tall buildings. He was probably nowhere near the wilderness, but on the outskirts of a small town. He had to swallow his pride, smother his honor and ask for directions, or he may never get to the wilderness at all.

"Hey, you!" he called out to a dim figure standing on the path towards one of the homes. "Which way do I go to reach the mountains?"

The figure shuffled into the light, revealing that he was a very elderly man with a long, graying beard, and almost no hair to speak of at all. He grinned a sort of toothless smile, pointing towards the south, in the direction of a mountain range. "Go south, young man, and be strong!"

"Thanks!" smiled Ryoga, turning north.

Ryoga sighed. This trip to the secluded wilderness of the mountains would take a long time. At least he knew he was going in the right direction. However, there was another problem that was yet unsolved. Because of his tough skin and resistance to pain, Ryoga didn't know that when he had tripped, a shard of a jewel had dug itself into his palm and was now disolving into his body.


	3. A Boy In Need

Higurashi Kagome sighed unhappily. Inu-Yasha-kun was such a jerk sometimes. Not only did he get uncontrollably jealous of Kouga-kun every time he showed up, but he had the nerve to openly show how much he cared for Kikyo an instant later. Though Kagome might have been Kikyo's reincarnation, the two of them were nothing alike, and sometimes she just wanted a bit of peace and quiet, away from Inu-Yasha-kun, Kouga-kun, and all the other Youkai she met in the Feudal era, as well as Shikon shard hunting...  
  
Suddenly, Kagome got to her feet. A jewel shard! What was a lone Shikon shard doing near the temple? Out of instinct, she grabbed her bow and quiver. The only one she knew of who had a single shard was Kohaku-kun, and he couldn't come back to the future, could he? She rushed out the door and to the shrine. A lone figure was stumbling up to her, wearing very muddy clothes and a dusty bandana. He definitely wasn't Kohaku-kun, but he had a Shikon shard embedded in his palm! Kagome was able to feel its presence, even though the fragment itself was invisible. That was one of her gifts that convinced the villagers of the feudal era that she was Kikyo's reincarnation. Kagome focused on the shard. It was uncorrupted, and that was good. In fact, the young man probably didn't even know it was there.  
  
"Who are you?", she asked kindly. "Do you need some help, by any chance?"  
  
"My name is Hibiki", the guy moaned breathlessly, "and I'm trying to get to the mountains to train."  
  
"Er.." Kagome started. "Maybe you should come inside and rest first..."  
  
"Thanks," he sighed, before he keeled over onto the ground in a dead faint. 


	4. The Hanyou InuYasha meets Hibiki Ryoga!

Hibiki Ryoga regained consciousness on a futon in the middle of a room. It seemed as if he was brought inside by the girl he had met earlier. He got up in alarm, noticing that it was getting dark. If he didn't get to the mountains, he'd never be able to train, and if he didn't train, he'd never beat Ranma! He jumped nervously when he saw the young lady approaching.  
  
"Your name's Hibiki-kun, right?" asked the girl. "My name is Higurashi Kagome."  
  
"Sorry. I'm Hibiki Ryoga. Just call me Ryoga..." he trailed off. "So, how do I get to the mountains?" He shouldered his pack and walked around. "Speaking of lost, how do I leave? I'm terribly sorry."  
  
"Oh, here." Kagome beckoned to him and he followed her out the door. She pointed south. "The mountains are that way. You sure you'll be okay? That's a really long way to go, Ryoga-kun!"  
  
"Thank you," Ryoga bowed. "I'll be on my way now." He started walking toward his destination.  
  
"Wait!" Kagome cried, as Hibiki Ryoga walked north into the shrine, tripping over the edge of the well in the shadows of the evening. "Are you all right?"  
  
There was no answer. He hadn't fainted again, had he? Kagome jumped down the well. She was suddenly overshadowed by two figures. Ryoga-kun was standing above the well, across from a bad-tempered hanyou with long, white hair and fuzzy ears. They were both staring at each other like they were great rivals. Inu-Yasha-kun reacted first.  
  
"Sankon Tetsusou!" 


End file.
